1. Field of the Invention
The embodiments discussed herein are related to a semiconductor device and a semiconductor device fabrication method.
2. Background of the Related Art
An inverter device for power including a plurality of semiconductor elements, such as an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and a free wheeling diode (FWD), is widely used as one of semiconductor devices.
Semiconductor elements included in such a semiconductor device are housed in a case and are connected in parallel in an electric circuit. The case has connection terminals for control terminals electrically connected to main electrodes of the semiconductor elements. A semiconductor device is formed by soldering a printed circuit board of an external circuit onto the connection terminals (see, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-053222).
With the technique disclosed in, for example, the above Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-053222, however, a finger may touch a connection terminal or a shock may be provided to a connection terminal from the outside, depending on a way of handling the semiconductor device. In such a case, external force is exerted on the connection terminal and damages the connection terminal. For example, the connection terminal bends. As a result, a microcrack may appear inside the connection terminal. If a microcrack appears inside the connection terminal, it goes down due to vibration, shock, or thermal deformation at the time of the operation of the semiconductor device. This leads to a deterioration in the reliability of the semiconductor device.